The present invention relates to a sensor device.
In the case of such sensor devices, the sensor element is disposed in relation to the housing in such a way that it comes into contact without hindrance with the medium to be registered (for example the intake air in the intake pipe of an internal combustion engine). Supporting feet of the sensor device are fixed in a housing.
In order to be able to install the sensor device in the housing, they are often supplied by use of a belt. To this end, the sensor device must be fitted to the belt and detached from the latter again for the purpose of installation. This requires a corresponding effort.
This effort may be avoided by the sensor device being supplied as bulk goods. In this case, however, there is the risk that the sensor devices will catch in one another.
It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide a sensor device which overcomes the above-mentioned disadvantages of the prior art devices of this general type, such that they can be supplied as bulk goods without there being the risk of mutual catching between sensor devices.
With the foregoing and other objects in view there is provided, in accordance with the invention, a sensor device containing a sensor element having one of a spherical shape and a flattened spherical shape with a minimum dimension. Two connecting elements are connected to and extending freely out from the sensor element, the two connecting elements run substantially parallel to and at a predefined distance from one another. A supporting element is provided having a supporting body through which the connecting elements are led, and a supporting foot is integrally molded on the supporting body to support the sensor device when it is installed in a housing. The two connecting elements, the sensor element and the supporting body bound between themselves a two-dimensional, empty clearance of a predefined width and a height. The supporting foot has a form of a plate-shaped part with a predefined length dimension and a height dimension. The predefined length dimension lies transversely with respect to a plane of the two-dimensional, empty clearance and the height dimension lies parallel to the two connecting elements. The minimum dimension of the sensor element and the predefined length dimension and the height dimension of the supporting foot being dimensioned, in relation to the two-dimensional, empty clearance, such that neither the sensor element nor the supporting foot can enter the two-dimensional, empty clearance of an adjacent sensor device of a group of sensor devices supplied as bulk goods.
The present invention is based on the finding that the risk of adjacent sensor devices catching in one another is primarily caused by the sensor element and/or one of the supporting feet entering the clearance between the sensor element, the connecting elements and the supporting body of an adjacent sensor device. According to the invention, the minimum dimension of the sensor element and the length and height of the supporting feet relative to the clearance are dimensioned in such a way that neither the sensor element nor one of the supporting feet can enter the clearance in an adjacent sensor device. In this way, the sensor devices may be supplied as bulk goods without being able to catch in one another, so that they can then be installed completely automatically. This considerably reduces the installation effort as compared with sensor devices supplied on belts.
The invention advantageously provides that, for the case in which the height d of the clearance is greater than the width c of the clearance, the following inequalities apply:
b greater than d and h greater than d and a greater than c 
and, for the case in which the height d of the clearance is less than the width c of the clearance, the following inequalities apply:
b greater than c and h greater than c and a greater than d, 
where a is the minimum dimension of the sensor element, b is the length of the supporting foot, c is the width of the clearance, d is the height of the clearance and h is the height of the supporting foot.
In accordance with an added feature of the invention, the supporting body is a plate-shaped part which, together with the two-dimensional, empty clearance, lies in a main plane of the sensor device.
In accordance with an additional feature of the invention, the supporting body has a first end and a second end opposite the first end. The two connecting elements lie in the main plane and are led through the supporting body, running in a straight line from the first end of the supporting body, and, bent at right angles to this, emerge from the second end of the supporting body.
In accordance with another feature of the invention, the supporting foot is integrally molded on the second end of the supporting body.
In accordance with a further feature of the invention, the supporting foot is one of two identical supporting feet, which run parallel to and at a distance from each other, and are integrally molded on the supporting body.
In accordance with another added feature of the invention, the supporting element has a bridge-shaped section which, in the main plane, has a substantially U-shaped cross section, and the supporting foot is connected to the supporting body by the bridge-shaped section.
In accordance with a concomitant feature of the invention, the sensor device is a negative temperature coefficient resistance sensor device and the sensor element is a negative temperature coefficient capsule.
Other features which are considered as characteristic for the invention are set forth in the appended claims.
Although the invention is illustrated and described herein as embodied in a sensor device, it is nevertheless not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention and within the scope and range of equivalents of the claims.
The construction and method of operation of the invention, however, together with additional objects and advantages thereof will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings.